A little over a year ago (wow, has it been that long?!), following a visit to Spokane by Wolfgang Simson, I wrote something I called "A House Church Manifesto: Toward An Apostolic Strategy For Rapidly Multiplying House Churches In Spokane." You can read it on our website, and it makes up Module 10 of our House Church equipping workbook. My own personal activities, as well as those of the Parousia Network, have been roughly centered around implementing this manifesto. Furthermore, I have been encouraged to hear other people in our area echoing some of the themes presented in that manifesto, especially the idea of seeing God raise up and plant 10,000 house churches in the greater Spokane (Eastern Washington-Northern Idaho) area. But I have been somewhat frustrated that so much of what has come about is, well, talk. We talk a good game. But this isn’t a game. This is a season of God’s dealings, the opening of a season of divine visitation. It is time for us to ask ourselves a very honest question: "Are we really serious about planting 10,000 house churches or do we just talk about it to make ourselves feel important?"

If we are truly serious about planting 10,000 house churches then we must get serious about listening to God’s voice, hearing what He is telling us and obeying. Any manifesto, any strategy for action, is only as valid as our willingness to hear from God in its implementation.

"He Who Has An Ear . . ."

For the past 18 months God’s call upon us as a house church has been to seek Him, to wait upon Him, to listen to what He wants to say and to "mend one another’s nets." It is amazing to me how much WORK learning to listen (and having learned to listen, to then learn to HEAR) can be for believers. Our first problem seems to be that we talk too much (usually about ourselves), and our second problem seems to be that we believe everything we say about ourselves is somehow from God. Once we recognize and reject these two tendencies (which are all too common) we face two more challenges. The first is learning to be quiet and listen personally as individuals. The second is learning to be quiet and to listen corporately as part of a body (an ekklesia).

When the Risen Christ visits and speaks to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3 He concludes each letter with an admonishment which is both personal and corporate, "He who has an ear, let him hear (there’s the individual) what the Spirit says to the churches (there’s the corporate)." Having lived with and studied these seven letters intensely over the past several months I am convinced that this recurring refrain is NOT describing "lone-wolf" or "free range chicken" prophets (individuals) prophesying into the church (the corporate body) from the outside (what I like to term "drive-by prophecies"). Rather, it is describing a body of believers (a corporate ekklesia) coming together and corporately listening and hearing from God as He speaks to the whole body through all of its members and parts listening and hearing together. In the corporate community of believers there is prophecy, discernment (yes to this, no to that), accountability, admonishment, encouragement, revelation and katartidzo (i.e., the mending of our nets both individually and as a body).

If we are truly going to see 10,000 house churches planted in the greater Spokane area, at least three things must happen. First and foremost in my understanding, God Himself must pour out the River of His Spirit, the River of Ezekiel 47, to flow in unprecedented power through our area. Nothing less than an historic move of God’s Spirit throughout our entire region could make such a church planting movement possible. Second, the "available church" (those Luke 10:2b believers who are ready and available to work in the harvest) must be tuned to "hear what the Spirit says to the Churches." This means we must lay down our agendas, stop talking and proclaiming, and be silent before God. We must be willing to wait, to worship, to listen, to hear and to obey. We must be silent, so that we can hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Third, we must become a risk-taking incarnational outreach church as opposed to a carefully planned "invitational" pseudo-outreach church (more about this later).

When I was in Austin back in May for the listening gathering (see my e-letter for May 18, 2006 archived on our website) Neil Gamble & I decided together that we needed to do something similar here in Spokane. This became a reality this past week as Neil and Dana joined us for a time of listening to what God might have for us here in Spokane. Between 15 and 20 of us (depending on the night) gathered at the home of the Shipleys, which is quickly becoming "ground zero" for this move of God (well, He keeps filling the yard up with angels when we meet!) to wait upon God and to listen to what He might have to say to us about what He wants to do in our region by way of spiritual outpouring and house church. There is no way in a newsletter of five pages that I can relate EVERYTHING that was shared (or the spiritual battles which broke out), so I must, of necessity, pick and choose through the many words and try to present in abbreviated form the message that the Holy Spirit seemed to communicate through this time. I am hopeful that those who were present will see fit to write up what they heard & saw so that I can compile them into a much more complete picture and perhaps make them available to all who are interested. I think it fair to say that we were all deeply moved by the time and came away both encouraged and challenged about what God wants to do in our city and in our region.

Let me begin with a couple of introductory remarks. First, I am not going to attempt a chronological "blow by blow" account of what took place. Rather, I am going to attempt to tie together "Larger" themes with "Smaller" details and preparations. Second, by "larger" I do not mean "important" and by "Smaller" I do not mean "unimportant". Better terminology might be "Strategic" versus "tactical." Tactics without strategy is meaningless activity, whereas Strategy without tactics is a plan without implementation. As I sort through everything that was given I see both "strategic" words and "tactical" words. Third, some of what occurred will bend the spiritual paradigm for some of you (maybe even to the breaking point). There is a very real sense in which we all want God to give us "great and might things which we do not know" (see Jeremiah 33:3), so long as what He shows us agrees with everything we have traditionally known (the ol’ "Something should happen, but nothing should change" phenomenon). But spiritual growth in the Christian life is less like a classroom where God teaches us "systematic theology" and more like a walk on the road to Emmaus during which the Risen Christ and the Holy Spirit reveal to us things which we thought we knew from the Scriptures, but which in reality we knew only in part .

The procedure each evening was the same. We gathered, worshiped for a brief time and then waited in silence for upwards of an hour and a half with occasional audible prayer. Then each person had an opportunity to share what they had seen, felt and heard from the Lord. Neil was an excellent coach and kept everything and everyone on track (despite some concerted efforts by the enemy to distract us).

The "strategic word" delivered the first evening was delivered by Jennifer, and is better reproduced than summarized: "Silence is the doorway to other dimensions. Let Jesus open the door. Do NOT open the door on your own. Never open the door on your own. I see a very large, fat, cushy chair in downtown Spokane. Presently no one is sitting in it, but it belongs to someone. They are distracted. I see Jesus put an eviction notice on the chair. The Lord tells me that the one who has been in the chair has been there for a long time and can leave it without worry that anyone will take it. When he comes back and finds the eviction notice he will be extremely angry, he will throw a fit. That’s where you come in, says the Lord. Pray for minimal damage, pray for peace and rest in the city, combat it with love. I am evicting the center of control in your city. I will do this, says the Lord. You will be needed on the streets. Prepare to go out, prepare your hearts. Be able to have peace in the midst of a storm. Be able to hold on to your peace and not let it go. Then I saw the King on His throne and when we were done worshiping He said, ‘Let the proceedings begin,’ as if we were in a governmental place. This is the real city council, those who would receive the council and plans from the Lord. The real decision making happens in prayer and comes from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That is where the real seat of power is." Those who know the battles we (and others) have fought over the stronghold of control in this city (the three dominant strongholds being a spirit of religion, a spirit of control and a spirit of mammon, with control dominating the other two) will immediately understand what a strategic word this was! There was an almost audible "gasp" in the room when Jen delivered this word. Jen’s husband, Jay, heard that we were in "the waiting room" and that there was a strong sense of "expectancy."

Other "tactical" words were shared. Garold saw an orange ruler and heard, "I am the true standard. Everything must be measured up to me and my standard." Karen from Canada heard "We have ignored you," and that we need to establish Him as the head of the household of God. Also, "if you don’t listen & draw on my life you won’t make it." Finally, she heard, "Listen up! Now is the time!" Cordie received Job 14:7ff "For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground, and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant." Many of us saw this as a prophetic word to the house church movement that God is moving from institutional stumps to many new sprigs and shoots. Dean heard that the Lord is calling out watchmen, gatekeepers and keepers of the keys. These will be guards of the camp of the Lord. Kitty saw angels along the fence of the back yard. The yard was empty except for one very large angel with outstretched wings which came down holding a trumpet. The word she heard was, "The sound of the beginning of the end for those who do things their own way and deceive the elect, the lame and the needy." Lisa heard "a cleansing is being poured out in the body of Christ" and "a new way of supplying is coming." Joanne heard, "I’ve been waiting a long time for this time of listening" and "House Church, what are you waiting for. It’s time!" She also saw Jesus walking the streets of Spokane - looking for His church. Mike heard and saw several things. He saw the aquifer which flows between Coeur d’Alene and Spokane as representing the area over which God wants to move. He heard, "Strategies. We’ll get what we’re prepared for." Mike also received Luke 12: 51-52 with the observation, "The new unity will look like disunity and division as God brings destruction to old structures." The Holy Spirit also emphasized Judges Chapter 4 (Deborah) and that women will play a key role in what’s to come (which was a word that we heard strongly in Austin). Maurice heard, "We need to get comfortable in our corporate skin" and "Don’t be a personal obstacle to what God wants to do."

On the second night there seemed to be two strategic words. The first "word" was actually a vision seen and shared by several people. Jesus was walking and standing in our midst, dressed in armor. We all had the sense that He was there both to do battle and to call His people into battle. The second strategic word of the evening also came through Jennifer: "I heard ‘divine connections.’ I saw a net. All the small pieces of rope connect together to make up the net. If some of the pieces are missing or are not connected then there will be holes in the net. You will not be able to catch fish. I saw an old net, very thick like heavy ropes at the bottom of the sea. It was partially covered by dirt as if it had been there for a long time. Then I see what looks like a mean whale being herded/driven into the net. The whale was angry and bumping against the net trying to get out. I see Jesus hold His arms out; the Holy Spirit is there too. As they surround the whale, the whale quits fighting. ‘And now we can begin,’ says the Lord. He has been blocking the flow of the Spirit. Now that he has been captured you will be released." By the expression on Neil Gamble’s face I could tell that this word was surprisingly powerful. He asked me if Jennifer and I had talked earlier in the day about nets, but we had not. Several of us had talked about Jesus knitting us into a net earlier in the day, but Jennifer had not been present for any of those discussions. We all felt it was a clean and strategic word about how God wants to knit his people together into a fishing net that He can use!

By now I hope you can tell that this was a strategic time of hearing from God about what He wants to do both in and through the house church movement in our region. Rather than share more details (several more "tactical" words), I want to try to summarize what I heard arise out of these three days.

1. There is a growing urgency regarding the season we are now in. The words "now is the time" (or "What are you waiting for?") were repeated several times. God is not in a hurry. But when He declares that a season has begun and that "It is time," then the day for hesitation and procrastination is over and we had better get ourselves in gear.

2. God Himself is re-arranging the power structure in Spokane, evicting the long-dominant spirit of control, releasing His people and clearing the way for them to move in freedom and power.

3. Jesus wants to knit his people together into a net that He can use. This, to me, speaks of the importance of genuine New Testament community (ekklesia). The day of the "lone-wolf" prophet or "free range chicken" house church is past. Building community takes time, which means that time is of the essence. The more of it you waste the less connected and the less effective you will be. If you are not part of a "net," a genuine community of believers, you will miss much of what God is about to do, because Jesus is about to go "net fishing". If you insist on being a "lone strand" and refuse to become knitted together into God’s net, don’t be surprised if you get left on the shore when the fishing boat departs.

4. Jesus is going to the streets in search of His church (which means He expects to find them there, not tucked away in a building somewhere). Will He find you there?

5. We need strategies to receive and deal with what God is preparing to give us. What is your strategy for receiving and planting multiplying house churches? Personally, I plan to actively revise and implement the House Church Manifesto which God gave me a year ago in the belief that it is the BEGINNING of such a strategy.

6. What is your plan to include and maximize the role of women in your house church? This is the same word which we received at the listening conference in Austin, so apparently this is high on God’s agenda, and it had better move up on our agenda as well.

7. As we step out in obedience, ministry and outreach, we have an ongoing need for corporate prayer, worship & listening. The purpose of prayer, worship and waiting on God is to seek His Presence and to hear His voice. The tangible result of this time should be both ministry to one another, and outreach to others. A worshiping church that does not desire to take the Kingdom of God to others has a fatal flaw in its DNA that dooms it to self-extinction. The same Jesus whom we worship is the same Jesus who says "Go to the streets." As we wait upon God we need him to give us strategies that will be effective in reaching a neighborhood. We don’t know what will or won’t be effective. He does, and He has the ability to enable us to build a model for neighborhood outreach that will work in this current season, not because we plan it, but because He gives it. Our problem seems to be that much of the church is so busy proclaiming victory that they haven’t taken the time necessary to be quiet, to listen and to receive God’s strategy for the battle. And every good General knows that only a fool assumes victory before the battle.

Back in March of this year I made a presentation to roughly two dozen ministry leaders from around the city . My presentation was entitled "Lessons on Leadership, Networking and Dining on Elephants" and offered my perspective on what God is doing in our city and the importance of networking together to implement a neighborhood strategy for community transformation ("How do you achieve community transformation? The same way you eat an elephant: One bite at a time!" - that kind of thing). The Powerpoint presentation I used is posted at www.spokaneblessingnetwork.org  where you can download and view it (minus the "Lord of the Rings" clips I included). In the presentation I challenged ministries to come together for a summer of outreach in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane (long story, tough neighborhood) to find ways of working together toward the goal of neighborhood (and eventually community) transformation. The response was nothing short of incredible - There was no response. Nothing. Nil. Nada. Zip. People told me what a great presentation it was. But no one indicated any interest in pursuing it. I walked away confused, discouraged and ready to throw my hands up and say "forget it." God let me "stew" for a few weeks and then gently nudged me with the question "Are you ready to obey me now, even if you have to do it alone?" Don’t you just hate it when He does that? So with no resources or money, two of us (myself and Mike Zorn, a PTSD vet who represents Point Man International Ministries and coordinates the Ministry Leaders Network in Spokane) decided that we would implement the outreach strategy God had given us. You can view the event as it comes together by going to: www.spokaneblessingnetwork.org/West_Central_Coalition.htm. It will consist of a week of activities for neighborhood kids (we’re avoiding calling it a "Vacation Bible School") at the West Central Community Center built around the theme of "Making Good Choices." Teen-Aid (an outstanding abstinence education ministry) is preparing the curriculum, volunteers are preparing arts & crafts and we are lining up local Christian Sports figures to do daily "clinics" and share personal testimonies of how their good choices (including their good spiritual choices) got them to where they are. The week will culminate in a Neighborhood Block Party in Canon Park with free food, booths, games, arts & crafts, music and an evening concert by "Scoob Serious," a former gang leader and now a Grammy nominated rap artist with a powerful Christian testimony of personal transformation and deliverance. Not bad for a couple of house church guys who, between them, don’t have two nickels to rub together (or enough common sense to know they're in way over their heads)!

In Matthew 22 and Luke 14 Jesus tells two parables about "feasts gone awry" in which the invited guests are either too busy or too good to come. So the master of the feast sends his servants out into the streets and lanes, the highways & hedges to compel "the poor and crippled and blind and lame" to come to the feast. I believe Jesus is once again sending his church, specifically the house church movement, out into the streets to invite people to His feast. I believe this is the heart of God behind our upcoming efforts in West Central. It is not an "evangelistic drive by shooting" but an opportunity to connect with the neighborhood, to invite them to a feast that God Himself wants to present, and to engage in genuine house church outreach. And this is your invitation to join us. We need house church people who are serious about being Luke 10:2 Christians, connecting with people and planting Safe Houses of Hope & Prayer (Yep, Module 5 of our Equipping Workbook). We need people who are willing to do arts & crafts with kids, to connect with people during Scoob's concert, to prayer-walk the neighborhood, and more. The event will also end up costing us around $3,000 and we need individuals & house churches who want to invest in neighborhood outreach.